Fire and Ice
by Jonathan Anubian
Summary: When Joey is taken away from his little brother Yugi and sold into slavery, how will he ever find his brother again.
1. Chapter 1

It was the dead of night when the strangers came into our small home and took me. I had always known that my bastard of a father would do this, but what choice did I have? My life was his to do with as he wished, since I wasn't considered an adult yet. I only hoped the gods of wind and fire forgave him, they are my witness I never will.

But that would be too cruel. My hope is going to be wasted on such an unworthy person. What I should hope for is my own salvation. Which leads back to my problem at hand.

"What are you bastards going to do to me?"

The larger one, with dark hair and pale skin, looked down at me and licked his lips; as if he was going to eat me. The other one, he also had dark hair but he had darker skin as well, looked at the other and me in disgust. The light was so dim that night, there being no moon, that I couldn't make out their faces completely, but perhaps that was a blessing. Feeling my face drain of it's life blood I turned to look at the man that had ruined my life. He looked ragged, as if he never ate or slept, or as if someone had beaten him. When I realized my brother wasn't present, I knew he would have been opposed to my being sold, I screamed at that horrible man.

"I do not care what happens to me, just tell me that Yugi is safe!" The man seemed shocked that he had remembered his brother, in this situation he probably would have thought only about himself.

"Yugi, he is in a better place now." He turned away slightly too ashamed to look into his elder son's eyes. Those who had a hold of my arms suddenly stopped dragging me. Opening my eyes, I could feel them burn but with what I could not tell, I glared at that man.

"I, Katsuya, curse you and your ancestors. If any of your blood runs through my veins let it burn away that I might not be tainted by it." A ghostly shade of green fell across the man's face as he stared in fear at the anger in his voice. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and the world, what he could see of it, began to swim across his vision, then he sank into the depths of darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

It was morning at the Toyshop and he awoke suddenly. Funny, he hadn't had a dream about that night in years. Sighing and rolling over, away from the older man that lay beside him, He thought about his life. Living in constant disgust, humiliation, and torture. Dying would have been a sweet release compared to this. Feeling a hand suddenly stroking his hair he turned back to the man and smiled winningly. Suppressing a shudder at the look of lust in the man's eyes he nuzzled the hand gently.  
"You're awake. I was beginning to miss you…"  
This was his life, it had been like that for ten years now. Stolen in the middle of the night by debt collectors he had been sold into slavery at the Toyshop to pay off his father's debts. He had been eight when they had brought him to the shop and left him in the care of the manager. After that his life became a blur of trying to please anyone that bought him, if not then he was denied anything that made him happy. Once he had even been beaten.  
"I didn't want our night to end, but I'm afraid I fell asleep." Shaking his head he cleared it of all those thoughts. Why had he had that dream anyway? It was old news.  
"I was surprised that you fell asleep too. Am I boring you?" Looking down he pretended to feel rejected. The man lifted his chin and grinned at him.  
"Never. I could never get bored with you." He was just about to kiss Jou when the maid knocked on the door and told them that Jou had to talk to the Manager. Saved by his friend he quickly got dressed and bid the man a kiss farewell.  
Holding back a gag he saw Anzu still waiting outside. Her nickname was Anzu-droid. Everyone thought she was a robot, since she never aged and never showed emotion. Turning to thank her he realized that the manager probably did have to talk to him. It was unusual to be summoned, unless you had done something wrong.  
"Am I in trouble Anzu?" Shaking her head she continued to walk at a sAnzudy pace.  
"You are always in trouble." Trying to hide a smirk he nodded, Anzu did have a sense of humour after all.  
He was surprised when he got to the manager's office. There was a middle-aged man sitting on the couch. Jou was told to sit across from him.  
"This is Jou. You asked for someone wild and unpredictable. Here he is." Standing the man gazed down at him and Jou knew he was being inspected.  
"Take a picture, it'll stay still longer." Standing himself he half struck a pose, hands on hips leaning slightly back so the man could see him better.  
"Also a little cheeky I see. I'll talk to you about price." Jou shrugged and sat down on the couch again. He didn't know when he had fallen asleep but apparently he had. Someone was shaking him awake and ordering him to change and go to the lobby. An extremely important person had just arrived.


	3. Chapter 3

Quickly he got up and headed to his room. The old man had gone and he was relieved. Anzu must have come and told him that they were having an important guest. As he looked around the room the feeling of wanting to die came back to him. The room was as big as a living room in a decent sized house; it even had a chandelier. The walls were a pastel blue that was supposed to be the sky, but with the decorations being orange it looked gross. Sure he had silk sheets, down pillows, nice clothes, and good food. But those were part of his shackles.

"This place might look like paradise, but it's a silk covered razor blade…"  
After he got in the shower he felt his sore muscles relax. All the stress melted away from his body as the water rolled down his shoulder blades. His hair fell in front of his face as he leaned against the wall. Touching the cool tile with his forehead he closed his eyes and pretended he wasn't there. A short while later he realized he had stayed in the shower a little too long, the manager was going to be pissed. Rushing into his room he put on whatever was on his bed. It just happened to be his tight fitting black jeans, hip huggers, and a black undershirt.

Running into the lobby he realized a lot of things very quickly. First, everyone was in suits or dresses. Second, the manger looked nervous, the first time he had ever looked nervous. Finally he noticed that the customer had backed a boy, he was brand new, against a wall and was feeling him up in front of everyone there, much to the poor boy's embarrassment. Striding past the manger he felt the man try to grab him but ripped his arm away. There was one thing he never tolerated and Manager Yoshimori knew that. No one picked on the young ones in front of him. Finally reaching the man he cleared his throat really loud, interrupting his roaming hands.

"I believe you are being very rude, you haven't even paid for him yet." Ice blue eyes bore into his almost orange ones. This man was dangerous. Letting go of the boy he turned to Katsuya. The boy bolted to hide behind the manager.

"Who are you to tell me I am being rude?" His voice was colder than any winter Katsuya had been through. It was as if the god of Ice himself inhabited his body. Just his stare made Katsuya freeze. With black hair that shined blue, and a pale face, he looked like death incarnate.

"I am Katsuya, famous for being unpredictable. Who are you?" One thing he hadn't noticed before was the man's clothing; it was made from the finest cloth you could get. The jerk was extremely rich, enough to make the manager shudder.

"Seto Kaiba. I am your Prince." That was when Katsuya realized that the floor was coming up to meet him. Fast, the guy was real fast. After grabbing his arm he had flipped Katsuya onto the ground and held him there.

"You bastard!" This was the most humiliating thing that had ever happened. Never in his years of staying at the Toy Shop had he been beaten in a fight.

"I only hear the barking of a broken dog." That feeling again, burning behind his eyes that spread through his body. As if he was on fire. Everyone backed away from him; the prince even let him go.

"You're, one of Them…"Katsuya stood and felt power surge through him. But just as he was about to attack the Prince he felt something sharp on the back of his head. Falling to the ground he remembered a similar situation.

"I apologize for him attacking you. I suppose I gave him too much freedom. Please forgive his impudence your majesty." The man stared down at him, foggy through Katsuya's blurred vision.

"I believe I will take him with me to the castle. My harem needs someone unpredictable. Fire is fun to tame." The manager's voice cracked.

"What? Did I hear your majesty correctly?" All Katsuya could think was, how do I get myself into these messes. Once again, his world turned black.


	4. Chapter 4

It took me all of three seconds to figure out I was not at home. The light, the smell, even the atmosphere was different. But the bed was so comfortable I thought maybe I was in the realms of the peaceful dead. When the door crashed open I knew it couldn't be. Nothing in the peaceful realms was that loud.

"What did you do to him? How could you have hit a child that small! He's only eight years old!" Hiding my face in the pillow I tried to curl up real small and pretend to be sleeping.  
The man continued to berate the guy that had followed him into the room; I could hear the other giving apologies. After a moment of silence something touched my shoulder and I couldn t help but flinch away from it.

"I see that you're awake, and why wouldn t you be. With all that yelling. My name is Yoshimori; I m the manager here. From now on this is your new home." After a moment I sat up and rubbed my eyes. How could this be my new home? I already had a home. After the realization hit me I jumped out of the bed and dashed for the huge door. I had to find Yugi, he was my only hope left.  
Grab him. With such a small order, said only loud enough for the man standing beside him, and me, to hear, I was caught and dragged back to the manager.

"Your father sold you boy. That means you have an obligation to do as you are told. Do you understand?" I nodded; this was the end of my freedom

* * *

Suddenly he shot up in his bed. Beside him was Anzu, in her hand she held a wet cloth. While he had been sleeping she must have been taking care of him.

"You were unconscious, I had to cool you off. As soon as I know you can walk unhindered you have to talk to the manager, I think something big happened while you were unconscious." Jumping from bed, which was a bad idea, he sank to the floor and let the world spin a little.

"Should have thought that through." Anzu shook her head and stood slowly, as she did a sigh escaped her lips.

"You should think a lot of things through." Wincing at the almost anger in her voice he looked up to see her frown.

"I will miss you." That was all she said before walking out the door and leaving him. She must have known that even though he still felt woozy he would get up and walk to the manager anyway.

As he wobbled to where the manager's office was he thought about what she had said.

'What did she mean, miss me?' Walking down the corridor, the last one before the office, he saw that all of the young people, and his friends, were standing there. Smiling at them he began to feel uncomfortable, the only time people lined the hallway was if they had to do a walk of Shame, or were going to be Silenced, and the latter would have guards. Shame was when you hurt, or extremely displeased, a customer. Silence was when you killed a customer or another Toy. It felt like neither but at the same time, everyone seemed really sad.

"We'll all miss you!" Why was everyone saying that? Suddenly a guard grabbed him and pulled him toward the office.

'Am I going to be killed for attacking the Prince?' That was the last thought he had before the guard shoved him into the room, he landed on his knees; not expecting the sudden jerking motion of the man's arm.

"Oi, be careful. He's not ours to do with as we want anymore."

"W-what s goin on?" All he knew was that his knees, and head, really hurt. Yoshimori looked down at some documents on his desk.

"Katsuya, while you were unconscious, you were sold." A twinge of fear ran through him and he thought his heart had stopped.

"But my debt. It's almost been repaid! I was supposed to be a free man in two years!" The man silenced him with a glare.

"Well you were stupid enough to get noticed, by the Prince, of all people!" Sighing he looked down at the documents again.

"Katsuya, I treated you differently that the others. I shouldn't have, but I did. Letting you roam free was stupid on my part. Thinking that because you had been here since you were young you would know more and respect the rules more. Then you did something like this and got yourself bought." Taking a breath he seemed to have something wrong with his voice, he cleared it then looked down at the boy again, this time a little more sternly. Sadness was still present at the back of his eyes, this is what hurt Katsuya the most, that he had disappointed Manager Yoshimori.

"After you had finished here I would have offered you a very lucrative job. But what is done can't be undone. Katsuya you have been sold. You are to pack your things immediately and get ready to move to your new master's home." With that said he stamped the papers, making the sale final. Katsuya sat there for a moment, in silence, then stood angrily.

"Yeah well, I hated this stinkin place anyway. You're the worst, letting them walk all over you!" Then he left, not making another sound.


	5. Chapter 5

The guard that was supposed to help him pack his things was a total ass. Not only did he throw Jou into his room, he called him a stupid whore.

"Since I'm no longer bound by the rules here, maybe I should go kick the crap outta that guy." He hoped the guy heard him talking and got a little sweaty around the collar. Looking around he realized he might actually miss his room. Even with it's uncaring, unlived in feel, it had still been his home for years. Thankfully it was not the same room where he worked. That would have traumatized him.

* * *

"From now on Jou, we're going to teach you how to please customers." For the longest time I hadn't realized why they trained us to be obedient. Not until the day I turned ten.

"Jou. Today is your tenth birthday. We're going to have a small party for you." I had been so excited. It wasn't every year you got your own birthday party. All of my friends came and some of the customers even bought me presents, I didn't know why. It was probably an investment, making me like them so I would have them as customers.

A few days after the party I was taken in to see a customer, that was when I finally understood my new lot in life. The man wasn't cruel or mean, but he was very forceful. It hurt a lot the first time, the only thing making it worse was that the manager was there. He was observing just in case the man got a little too rough. When the man was finished I was told that I would begin new training to make me able to withstand the constant torment of being a sex slave. Even with the training it still hurt when a man three times larger than me decided to be my customer.

* * *

Shaking his head to clear it of the old memories Jou finished packing what little belongings he had, mostly things bought for him by customers. The only thing he came with that he was allowed to keep was the locket he had around his neck that held a picture of his brother. Without it he would never have survived the long nights in that large, cold room. Hearing a knock on the door he opened it and was surprised to see Mira standing there. She looked a little ragged, which was not normal for her.

"Jou, may I come in?" It was strange of her to ask, usually she just crept up on you.

"Sure Mira, come on in." After letting her in the room he closed the door and turned to see her standing there with tears in her eyes.

"I can't believe your leaving " It was something so surprising that he almost wasn't ready for it. Catching her from mid tackle-hug he smiled.

"Geez, I didn't know you cared." Her eyes watered but she did not actually cry.

"Of course I cared, I've been like a mother to you for ten years." Patting her back he finally realized he was taller then her.

"It seems I've grown up a bit. And I don't hold onto your apron anymore." Laughing he could feel her shoulders begin to shake.

"I hope you find happiness whatever happens." Nodding he hugged her once more before letting go and straightening himself up.

"I just hope that when I find my brother he'll recognize me." With that said he hugged her one last time and left his room, he knew he would never enter that room again.

As soon as he got into the car he knew he wasn't going to like his new life. Sure the Toyshop had been fancy, but it wasn't rich. Besides, if he had to grovel in front of a bastard like Kaiba he would rather die. On the way to, wherever the prince lived, Jou fell asleep.

* * *

"Boy, come over here!" I knew I should have just listened to him, but whenever he tried to boss me around I couldn't help myself.

"Make me, you ugly baldy!" Stopping in his tracks the man ran his hand along his shaved head. His face was turning red and I knew I was going to get a beating.

"If you don't come over here, this instant " Leaving it open, since he wasn't really supposed to threaten the boy, he tried to make himself calm.

"Why? Tough enough to beat on kids but not to chase them down?" With that said I turned to run, I knew I had crossed the line and the guy was pissed. Running into something hard I realized that Hirutani had been standing behind me, waiting.

"Are you having trouble, Shadi?" Nodding the man cleared his throat; Hirutani was the main guard in the Toyshop. Grabbing the back of my shirt I felt a chill run down my spine, I was expecting a lot of pain.

"Do you mind if I try to teach him for a short time?" Shadi shook his head; no one messed with Hirutani. Trying to wriggle out of my shirt, and out of his grasp, I could feel his eyes on me. They were like a viper's eyes when they had spotted a young mouse, vicious and cold. Holding tightly to my arm, since he knew I could slip out of my shirt, he pulled me away from the teacher and the few other students.

"What are you doing to me you muscle head! Lego my arm!" Stopping I saw those cold eyes turn to me again. Bringing his hand down across my face I felt the sting of someone stronger than me. I felt my eyes well up but held back my sobbing. If I cried it would only make him enjoy it more. Soon we entered a room and he threw me to the floor. Jumping up I bolted for the door but it was already shut, he was staring at me in anticipation. Feeling the blood run cold through me, I ran toward the window, jumping was definitely better than this. It was as if the guy had let me try for the window on purpose, but I struggled in vain. Every window in the building was locked and only the manager had the keys. A hand wrapped around my throat and I knew what was coming next. I was pulled back and pushed to the floor. His hot breath smelled like old alcohol and the tobacco he sometimes chewed. Trying to inch away I didn't even realize he had taken down his pants, until he pulled me to him. Ripping off my clothes he turned me away from him, I tried to hit him but he grabbed both my wrists in one hand and held my neck tightly.

"I could snap your neck and the manager wouldn't blink, he would just buy another slave. Behave, Jou." Swallowing he nodded, hoping while he was turned away the man wouldn't see his tears. Settling the boy down on himself the man began to move, slowly at first, then brutally. It seemed he didn't care if the boy felt pain. After he was done he just left Jou on the floor, Anzu was the one that found him.

Apparently the manager did care; Jou had two broken ribs and was bleeding from a place he thought could never bleed. Hirutani was told to leave and the other shops were given notice about his cruel behavior toward slaves. After that Jou had sworn he would train his body, so that no one could ever get the advantage of strength over him again.

* * *

"Wake up, Kid." Jumping a little at the man's booming voice he looked around him to see where he was. Getting out of the car he let his eyes wander upward, this place was huge. It was five times bigger or more than the Toyshop.

"Amazing isn't it. Now that you're done sightseeing, get your things. We have to get you settled in." This man seemed to be a guard, and quite friendly. At the same time he seemed very much an authority, so Jou figured he should listen, for now. As he was walking up the steps he spotted a young woman standing beside a pillar.

"You're not welcome here." Jou soon realized that it was not a woman, but a young man dressed in beautiful long robes.

"I'm the Prince's favorite, you should just return to where you came from." Staring at the guy his eyes widened in recognition and he dropped his things.

"You!"


End file.
